SOCIETY

Image: Natural Philo

Throat singing: a storm of sound on the steppes-By Sam Jarman The day dawns cold, clear, and still. A nomadic Mongolian herder knows that sound will carry well in these conditions, so he takes his chance. Climbing onto his horse, he rides into the wilderness, intent on finding…

I’ve been doing it wrong-By Jonathan Farrow from the Thoughtful Pharaoh To rinse or not to rinse. That is the question. Or, more fully, when you brush your teeth, do you rinse the excess toothpaste out of your mouth with water? I’d never really…

Language is Powerful-By Jonathan Farrow from the Thoughtful Pharaoh With the election of Donald Trump in November came a torrent of think pieces, op-eds, podcasts, Facebook posts, and tweets. Everyone had something to say and someone to blame. It was Hillary’s fault,…

Z is for Zeno-By Jonathan Farrow from the Thoughtful Pharaoh It’s early in the morning. The caffeine from your morning cup of coffee has yet to fully kick in, but as you turn the corner, you see your bus. It’s just pulling in…

X is for Xenophobia-By Jonathan Farrow from the Thoughtful Pharaoh A lot happened in the summer of 1954. The world’s first atomic power station opened in Russia, Alan Turing committed suicide, the CIA set up a coup in Guatemala, food rationing finally ended…

V is for Vitruvian Man-This drawing, of a man contained within a circle and a square, is one of the most recognizable in the world. It seems to fascinate people and has a way of transcending time and space to connect with its viewers.…

S is for Simple Rules-By Jonathan Farrow from the Thoughtful Pharaoh Consider the following: schooling fish, roundabouts, segregation, and human consciousness are all examples of the same fundamental property of the world. It may seem crazy to suggest that roundabouts may be interesting in some sense,…

Vegetarian aliens could save our bacon-By James Riley Bacon is tasty, very tasty. It’s so tasty that my moral objection to the industrial-scale murder of sentient animals dissipates with each and every ketchup-soaked bite. This is a weakness on my part. I’m theoretically ethical but…

K is for Kepler-“Truth is the daughter of time, and I feel no shame in being her midwife.” Johannes Kepler These words, written by Johannes Kepler in 1611, are profound. At the time, Galileo had just discovered the Galilean moons (including Europa) in Florence but was being…

F is for Faraday-By Jonathan Farrow from The Thoughtful Pharoah The year is 1791. On a crisp autumn morning in South London, Margaret Hastwell, a blackmith’s apprentice, gives birth to her third son. With her husband, son, and daughter crowded around, she decides to…

Not Such a Slippery Slope-“It is important that legislation keeps pace with scientific progress.” Robert Winston A little breakthrough for medical research happened last week, not in the lab, but in the House of Commons. By a huge majority the commons voted to allow a…

Homosexuality IS natural, (according to nature)-by James Riley One reoccurring argument constantly levelled against homosexuality is: “it’s just not natural.” Well, if you take a close look at nature, you’ll see that isn’t quite right. (Feature Image, Original Credit: Simon Speed) Animals partake in various same-sex…

Zombies: The Theoretical Pathogenesis-by James Riley “When hell is full, the dead shall walk the Earth.” (Feature Image, Original Credit: Gianluca Ramalho Misiti) Are zombies real? To many people, the idea of a horde of ravenous zombies tearing through the nation is a…

Asimov’s Amazing Assertions-by James Riley “What will the World’s Fair of 2014 be like? I don’t know, but I can guess.” Could you predict the future? In the wake of the 1964 World’s Fair, Isaac Asimov, prolific sci-fi writer, made some startling…

Fracking: The Collision of Science and Politics-by James Riley Policy decisions are rarely made on scientific evidence alone. In fact, science has only a small part to play in the convoluted world of policy. In this light, perhaps it is unsurprising that even though we have…

Option or obligation: an opt-out donation issue-By Alex Hale “Every right implies a responsibility; Every opportunity, an obligation, Every possession, a duty” John D. Rockefeller Not everyone wants to donate their organs. Sadly, in our aging, obese, drug addicted nation, the demand for organs is on…